In Batesian mimicry a palatable mimic deceives predators by resembling an unpalatable model. The evolution of Batesian mimicry relies on the visual capabilities of the potential predators, as prey detection provides the selective force driving evolutionary change. We compared the visual capabilities of several potential predators to test predictions stemming from the hypothesis of Batesian mimi...

Climate change is altering global patterns of precipitation and temperature variability, with implications for parasitic diseases of humans and wildlife. A recent study confirmed predictions that increased temperature variability could exacerbate disease, because of lags in host acclimation following temperature shifts. However, the generality of these host acclimation effects and the potential...

Male-male vocal competition in anuran species is critical for mating success; however, it is also energetically demanding and highly time-consuming. Thus, we hypothesized that males may change signal elaboration in response to competition in real time. Male serrate-legged small treefrogs (Kurixalus odontotarsus) produce compound calls that contain two kinds of notes, harmonic sounds called 'A n...

1. Newts chronically infected with an Ichthyophonus-like organism selected warmer temperatures than healthy newts, consistent with prior work on behavioral fever, though the magnitude of the difference was much greater than reported in other studies. 2. The large difference in selected temperature (411 1C) may be a consequence of the chronic nature of the Ichthyophonus infection in newts from t...

Responses to alarm chemicals from injured prey may in uence predation risk and foraging success of receivers and senders, while learning can in uence the strength of these responses. Thus, it is important to know when in ontogeny prey produce and detect alarm substances and how learning shapes their response, but surprisingly little is known about either of these topics. We assessed when in t...

Parasites have been implicated in mass mortality events and population declines of amphibians around the world. One pathogen associated with mortality events in North America is an Ichthyophonus sp.-like organism that affects red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) and several frog species, yet little is known about the distribution of this pathogen in wild populations or the mechanism of...